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Chris Gittens finally gets his shot with the Yankees

06/06/2021

Long time New York Yankees minor leaguer Chris Gittens will finally get a big league chance amid team’s first base crisis.

Chris Gittens has become somewhat of a cult hero for New York Yankees fans in recent years. A perennial presence in Spring Training, fans have grown quite fond of Gittens’ impressive power displays in exhibition games.

Now, he’s finally going to get his chance to contribute to the big league club.

Prior to tonight’s game, the Yankees made the following roster moves:

•Transferred RHP Corey Kluber to the 60-day injured list.
•Signed INF Chris Gittens (#92) to a Major League contract and selected him to the 26-man roster from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

— Yankees PR Dept. (@YankeesPR) June 5, 2021

The Yankees are in dire straights with the first base position right now. Luke Voit has barely played in 2021 due to a litany of injuries. Mike Ford has disappointed with his regular chances to contribute. And while DJ LeMahieu is more than capable of playing the position, his true value comes from second base.

So the Yankees finally decided to turn to their long time minor leaguer. He’s slashing .283/.486/.585 for an OPS of 1.071 in triple-A this season. The team hopes to transfer that level of production to the big league roster, finally getting some consistency from the first base spot. And Gittens hopes to prove that he belongs in Major League Baseball after grinding through the minors for so many years.

And who knows? We’ve seen plenty of under-appreciated players show up and change the Yankees’ season. Luke Voit was one of those under-appreciated players himself when the team first acquired him.

Perhaps Gittens’ arrival can spark a Yankee offense that has been borderline unwatchable for much of the season. And there’s no better way to make your mark on the team than by performing against the Boston Red Sox in your Major League debut.

It would be unrealistic to expect Gittens’ triple-A numbers to translate to his first stint in the big leagues. But he can provide something that the Yankees have been in desperate need of all year. Consistent offensive production from first base until Luke Voit is ready to return.